Duke discards Maryland, 77-56

Everyone take a deep breath ...

... and exhale.

As Coach Gary Williams noted after Saturday's 21-point loss at Duke, it was just one game. Maryland still sits among the conference leaders in the ACC, and it remains in good shape to make the NCAA tournament.

That is, so long as the issues that plagued the Terrapins against Duke do not suddenly develop into recurring themes. Maryland plays again in, oh, 50 hours or so, so you won't have to wait too long to see how the Terrapins respond.

Maryland shot 37.7 percent from the field and 15.4 percent from three-point range. The Terrapins tallied 10 assists to 14 turnovers and forced Duke to commit just seven turnovers of its own. And while the rebounding margin didn't end up too definitively in Duke's favor (44-37), the Blue Devils killed Maryland with an abundance of second-chance points (20).

"Over the course of 40 minutes, we didn’t do the things necessary to win the game either offensively or defensively, especially giving them the second shots that they had," Williams said.

Three Up:

1) Cliff Tucker's first-half spark. Only two Maryland players tallied more than two points in the first half, and Tucker was one of them. After entering the contest with just less than 13 minutes remaining before the intermission and the Terrapins trailing by 10, Tucker scored six of Maryland's next eight points. He finished the first half with eight and was one of the reasons why the Terrapins trailed by just 16 points at the half. It could have been much, much worse, given the sluggish manner in which Maryland started the game. Tucker finished with 12 points in 24 minutes.

2) Greivis Vasquez's second-half spark. After making just 1 of 5 shots in the first half, Vasquez shot 6 for 7 from the field after the break. At one point he tallied 10 straight points for the Terrapins, but his offensive efforts were not matched by any other Terrapin during the second half. Vasquez finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, seven assists, four assists and three turnovers.

3) Second-half aggressiveness. The Terrapins started out slow. Really, really slow. They did not execute well on the offensive end, and that in part was due to a lack of aggressiveness. For stretches during the second half -- specifically the 10-0 run that brought Maryland to within 10 points of the lead -- that problem appear to be solved. Eric Hayes, Tucker and Vasquez took the ball to the hole, but eventually Duke adjusted and Maryland could not sustain that approach.

Three Down:

1) Offensive efficiency. What happened to the sweet-shooting Terrapins who rarely turned the ball over and passed with precision? They certainly did not make the trip to Durham. Instead, the version of the Terps that showed up to Cameron Indoor on Saturday shot 37.7 percent from the field, found nearly any success from the three-point line, turned the ball over in the face of Duke's frequent defensive switches and by and large seemed out of sync. That, in fact, might have been what stood out most. Since conference play began, Maryland's half-court offense consistently has run smoothly, but today the Terrapins' timing appeared off. Passes were early or late or short or long. Shots were off-balanced, and open looks were hard to come by. Duke's defense may have had as much to do with that as anything. The Blue Devils are, after all, ranked No. 1 in the ACC in scoring defense.

2) Milbourne and Mosley. Combined, senior forward Landon Milbourne and sophomore guard Sean Mosley shot 3 for 12 from the field and tallied six points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. From two of the team's top overall performers, those numbers simply won't cut it. Granted, both players were matched up against opponents who held significant size advantages, but by now, they should be accustomed to operating under such circumstances.

3) Containing Brian Zoubek. Duke's 7-foot-1 senior center entered Saturday's game averaging 4.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He had served as a nice role player off the bench, but was not someone opposing teams figured they had to game plan around. And then against Maryland, Zoubek received his first start of the season and responded by scoring 16 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in 22 minutes. Maryland found no way to stop him on either end of the court for any extended period of time.

The UMD Terps.... pretty much tied for 1st in the ACC Standings, blew a GOLDEN opportunity. A win and maybe catapulted into the top 25. A chance to compare with a top 15 team, and didn't come close. There won't be many more chances, (not many ranked ACC teams).
Don't let this loss snowball into two or three, or maybe a ticket to the NIT.

The Terps played bad offensively and defensively. Seemed nobody even tried to box out Zoubek.

They lost on their own, but the refs were pretty one-sided. No free throws for the Terps until the 11:30 mark in the 2nd half and what, maybe twice at the line for the game. CBS coverage was also one-sided—3 film clip paeans to Duke in the 1st half; none to MD during the game.

And is Duke the whitest team in the ACC? Still carrying on those ol’ Southern traditions.

I for one like the "ol' Southern tradition" of Jon Scheyer (from Illinois) and Brian Zoubek (from New Jersey) making your team look like a Patriot League also-ran. One consolation for the Terps: at least it wasn't a 41 point loss in Cameron this time.

miken1984, obviously you are wishin' you was in Dixie with your White Devils. Coach K knows who he is recruiting for. It was no dishonor for the Terps to lose in Cameron; no one but Duke has won there this season. The NCC refs wouldn't allow it if it ever got close. Now let's talk Georgetown.

Obviously the "White Devils" reputation you claim didn't stop K from poaching Johnny Dawkins, Grant Hill, Tommy Amaker, Nolan Smith, Brian Davis, Billy King, John Smith and Nate James right out of your recruiting area. Last I checked, those guys were not white - and every one of them except for Nolan Smith played in the Final Four before Maryland even made their first one. OK - Nate James' was in the same year as UMD's first FF - but we all know what happened there (Duke refs, right?).

We'll take Terrence Ross too now that he wants to play for an actual contender - if you don't mind. Don't know why he'd decommit from Maryland to look at a racist school like Duke. Tyler Thornton from Gonzaga is headed to Duke next year - but it's not like MD will have a hole at PG next year.

Well sure in this day and age Duke has to sprinkle in some non-whites. Obviously if you have to come troll on a Terp board about some sort of Duke superiority because they won on their home court then you have inferiority issues.

I subscribe to the Post. I live in the DC area. The blog post was about the Duke game. I have every right to comment here, and by Terp standards, my comments were far from trolling. Your racist implications are what shouldn't be tolerated here - but they will be, because resentment is hard-wired into your fanbase. Maryland must be proud of "fans" like you that blame every loss to Duke on the refs, an ACC/media conspiracy, or - gasp - whitey!

terp fan 2001,,,You need to remind milken that Durham is the murder capitol of the world...living here in cary nc...you duke is just a haven for rich brats who never played a sport in there life.....the terps will be fine...this looked like the clemson game

There are at least three reasons why Duke supporters can and should enter this blog this morning, despite the fact that the article is Terrapins Insider.

First - clearly Duke could get inside Maryland any time it wanted. Terps defense was soooo bad; poor GV wouldn't know D if it was the only letter in the alphabet.

Second - clearly Duke is inside the heads of all Terps. It is too funny and I guess it will always be.

Finally - the racist trash some of you are talking deserved an intelligent response from somebody - thank you Miken 1984.

And no, it is not inferiority causing me to write this morning. Duke has been up too long allow that feeling. Instead, it is to emphasize the point made by the Post headline, that the "Maryland Program" couldn't play with Duke yesterday, nor on most nights.

Oh, sure it's the refs. Let's see how the Terps finish. Better hope for NIT so you can get some postseason wins.

DEV43,,SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE JEALOUS...Ps im one of the rich brats and play golf at prestonwood 3 days a week...Do they have a golf course in durham nan just thugs thieves and rapist...o thats right they were not guilty bullsh

Maybe someone should explain to carolina1 that "I play golf at Prestonwood 3 days a week" is not the same as "I'm a caddy at Prestonwood".

If you live in Cary you should know that Durham has several golf courses - but that's not really your point, is it?

As for the game at College Park - Maryland always seems to have a better chance in games that haven't been played yet, don't they? I guess Duke is losing to MD in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments too. So I've got MD 3-1 over the Devils already this year: 0-1 in games that have already been played, but 3-0 in games yet to be played or just imagined about. The Terps are the hoops equivalent of the Chicago "wait 'til next year!" Cubs.

miken1984, you are certifiably delusional. If you read my first post I never blamed the loss on "whitey," an ACC conspiracy, or the refs. I said the Terps lost because they played poorly. And I think the only racism is Duke scouring the country to recruit the best white players.

I did think the refs were one-sided. I saw a lot of contact under the basket with no fouls called against Duke. Most telling was the charge called on the Terps in the first half, then 2 or 3 minutes later they took a similar charge, but no call on the White Devils. Duke had twice as many field goal attempts in the game as the Terps and there was none of that intentional fouling at the end of the game.

And you are denser than a neutron star if you don't think coming on a forum called "Terrapins Insider" and ragging on the Terps isn't trolling. My statement earlier stands - you have to have some kind of personal inferiority issue to do this. Okay, you thumped your chest, now quit crying because people on this forum don't get on their knees and bow to your pontifications. Take it to a Duke forum where you will find all the love you want.

Hlynchmaster, I don't see this as the Terps blowing a golden opportunity. This was not a golden opportunity, playing on Coach K's bday, his 1000th career game, the 70th anniversary of the arena, vs the 8th ranked team in the country. Not exactly ideal conditions, or a golden opportunity.

Mikegt67 - I'm not sure why you don't see that game as a golden opportunity. As I said, not many ranked ACC schools to pull from. UMD may have to win the ACC outright or win the ACC tourney to go dancing.
I read these blogs and everyone's talking about refs, media, etc. I feel the Terps at the Comcast Ctr. get "home cookin" galore, so let's not go there.
You guys need to stop bellyaching, and root for your team to play better, regardless of who or where they play. It's not going to get any easier on the road.
Maybe next year GW will set his schedule up to include some early road games against some quality opponents. Then, when it's time to play DUKE on the road there will be NO EXCUSES!!!

Hlynchmaster, when you say "UMD may have to win the ACC outright or win the ACC tourney to go dancing" you must be thinking that only one or two ACC teams will make it. I think you are wrong on that score.

As for "home cookin," the ACC was referred to informally for many years outside of North Carolina as the NCC because of the favoritism shown NC teams, including having all the ACC tournaments there. I still think the refs are more deferential to Coach K at home than any other ACC teams.

Regarding the scheduling of early road games against quality opponents, (1) the Terps have had plenty of these games in previous years, (2) it's not as easy to schedule games against quality teams as you may think, and (3) what seems like a quality team at scheduling may turn out to be less so by game time.

As for excuses, I don't think any Terp fan writing here made any excuses for this loss.

Still don't know what you and the other Duke fans are trying to prove by coming here and beating your chests. You must really FEAR THE TURTLE if you feel the need to go to a Terp forum to boast over one win.

Duke is the 8th team in the country like MD's going to the Final 4 this year. Duke will be lucky to make the Sweet 16 this year. Their program is in a tailspin as well. Coach K is more into coaching USA Basketball and being "Coach K" than he is Duke basketball anymore so Dookies take a hike.

Booger1 -
First of all, I am not a DUKE fan or supporter. I am a G'Town Hoya fan first, and a college basketball fan overall. Eventhough this blog states Terrapins Insider, I see no rules barring ANYONE other than Terp fans or alum from making comments.
It's obvious to me that you have not read any of the above comments. There are many excuses given here, (maybe you would like to view them as facts).
It always amazes me that fans of the home team seem to never think their team is getting "home cooking". Maryland - Comcast Center, give me a Brrreak !!!
As I said, I am a Hoya fan, and in the D.C. area, the Terps, (whether good or bad), get all of the props. I won't get started on this, because I could speak all day on this issue, (as i'm sure most local teams could as well).
Hopefully the Terps will go dancing this year, (I still like to see local teams in the Big Dance), and I hope they place them in the same regional as the Hoyas. Maybe the two teams can meet again. Following that meeting you and I may have a little more to chat about.